Table Of ContentThe Sociology of
law and The global
TranS formaTion of
democracy
chriS Thornhill
University of Manchester
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The Sociology of law and The
global TranS formaTion of
democracy
This book provides a new legal-s ociological account of contemporary
democracy. This is based on a revision of standard positions in demo-
cratic theory, reflecting the impact of global legal norms on the institu-
tions of national states. chris Thornhill argues that the establishment of
fully democratic, fully inclusive governance systems in national socie-
ties was generally impeded by inner-s ocietal structural factors, and that
inclusive patterns of democratic citizenship only evolved on the founda-
tion of global legal norms that were consolidated after 1945. he claims
that this process can be best understood through a transposition of
key insights of classical legal sociology onto the form of global society.
extensive analysis of select case studies in different regions illustrate
these claims. Thornhill offers a sociological theory of global law to
explain contemporary processes of democratic integration and insti-
tutional formation and contemporary constructions of citizenship and
political rights. This title is also available as open access.
chris thornhill is Professor in law at the University of manchester.
he is the author of several books on the sociology of law, especially on the
sociology of constitutions. his books and other writings have been trans-
lated into many languages. he is a member of the academia europaea.
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global law series
The series provides unique perspectives on the way globalization is radi-
cally altering the study, discipline and practice of law. featuring innovative
books in this growing field, the series explores those bodies of law which
are becoming global in their application, and the newly emerging inter-
dependency and interaction of different legal systems. it covers all major
branches of the law and includes work on legal theory, history, and the
methodology of legal practice and jurisprudence under conditions of glo-
balization. offering a major platform on global law, these books provide
essential reading for students and scholars of comparative, international
and transnational law.
Series Editors
m.e.a goodwin Tilburg University
randall lesaffer Tilburg University
david nelken King’s College London
han Somsen Tilburg University
Books in the Series
Intimations of Global Law neil walker
Legalized Families in the Era of Bordered Globalization daphna hacker
Transnational Sustainability Laws Phillip Paiement
The Sociology of Law and the Global Transformation of Democracy chris
Thornhill
Authority and the Globalisation of Inclusion and Exclusion hans lindahl
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Library of Congress Cataloging-i n-P ublication Data
names: Thornhill, c. J. (christopher J.), 1966- author.
Title: The sociology of law and the global transformation of democracy /
chris Thornhill, University of manchester.
description: cambridge, United Kingdom ; new york, ny, USa : cambridge
University Press, 2018. | Series: global law series | includes
bibliographical references and index.
identifiers: lccn 2018009340| iSbn 9781107199903 (hardback) | iSbn
9781316649060 (paperback)
Subjects: lcSh: Sociological jurisprudence. | law—Political aspects. |
democracy—Social aspects.
classification: lcc K370 .T545 2018 | ddc 340/.115—dc23 lc record available
at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018009340
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for atina, grace and John
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conTenTS
Acknowledgements ix
Introduction 1
1 The Paradox of Democracy and the Sociology of Law 39
2 National Democracy and Global Law 134
3 Before the Law? 203
4 Politics Becomes the Law 277
5 The Reconstruction of Democratic Agency 420
Conclusion 497
Bibliography 503
Index 569
vii
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acKnowledgemenTS
research for this book was very generously funded by the european
research council (erc) (advanced grant 323656-STc). i owe a great
debt of gratitude to the erc for this funding, which made it possible for
me to conduct extensive research in different countries and in some of the
world’s great cities, notably bogotá, brasilia, frankfurt, la Paz, london,
moscow, nairobi and Saint Petersburg. additionally, i wish to thank eve-
ryone who has assisted me with my research in connection with this book.
in particular, my thanks are due to maria Smirnova and carina calabria,
who for several years provided both excellent company and extensive
information concerning russian law and the legal systems of differ-
ent latin american countries. all analysis of russian law set out in the
book is indebted to maria Smirnova, who has been a truly magnificent
co- researcher over recent years. Some aspects of chilean and colombian
case law were explained to me by rodrigo cespedes, and dominic
dagbanja and elizabeth o’loughlin helped me with questions concern-
ing ghanaian and Kenyan law. in bogotá, Juan barrero, Jorge gonzález
and Julieta lemaitre showed great generosity in taking time to clarify for
me the finer points and broader implications of colombian constitutional
law. colleagues at the institute of legislation and comparative law under
the government of the russian federation in moscow were extremely
helpful in sharing their knowledge of the complexities of russian public
law. also very fruitful were discussions in which i participated at confer-
ences and colloquia held in aarhus, bogotá, bremen, cardiff, edinburgh,
moscow and Tel aviv, and i am grateful to all participants in these events.
discussions in my postgraduate seminars at the University of brasilia in
october 2016 will stay in my mind for a long time, and i am grateful to
all the students there for their intellectual company. Students who took
my course on the Sociology of law at manchester University in 2017 also
contributed immeasurably to the book, as their questions forced me to
rethink many of my claims. in november 2016, i spent a month at the
ix
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x acknowledgements
max- Planck- institut für europäische rechtsgeschichte in frankfurt,
where i wrote some of the historical sections of the book. The institute in
frankfurt was always a wonderful place to work, and i am grateful for the
opportunities it offered me over many years, up to 2016. more informal
discussions with guilherme de azevedo, Paul blokker, hauke brunkhorst,
emilios christodoulidis, Jean d’aspremont, Pierre guibentif, gorm
harste, Poul Kjaer, aldo mascareño, ben morris, Jiri Priban, darrow
Schecter, gunther Teubner and neil walker were also very enlightening,
and they fed into the book indirectly. atina Krajewska discussed many of
the ideas in the book with me, and she put me right on many points. as
ever, i am extremely grateful to finola o’Sullivan and other colleagues at
cambridge University Press for supporting my research.
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